truffles

Recently, I was asked by Lauren over at Empowered Sustenance to write a guest post on her site. I have loved her site for a long time. In fact, she was one of the first people I ever read about who was also trying to manage ulcerative colitis naturally. I am so honored to have had the opportunity to share this recipe on her blog, so I hope you all will click through and show her some love!

Paleo Raspberry Carob Truffles

My very first job, outside of babysitting and pet sitting, was in a chocolate store. That seems a little funny to me now since I haven’t had more than a few bites of chocolate in over a year, but I was a sophomore in high school and I couldn’t think of a job more fun. It was a little local chocolate shop with all sorts of handmade confections. The shelves were lined with everything from eggnog truffles in the winter to chocolate covered fruit in the summer. My job was to handle the customers, decorate the store and decorate the chocolate. In return, I got paid a little over five dollars an hour and was allowed to have a piece of chocolate or two per shift. Not a bad deal for a 16 year old in a small town.

While I’ve never had an overwhelmingly strong sweet tooth I absolutely love the intricacy of baking and making desserts. Don’t get me wrong, I love cooking every day meals too, but there is just something so artistic and beautiful about creating that perfect treat. That treat that makes you feel like you are spoiling yourself; experiencing something luxurious.

However, if you are on any sort of a restricted diet for an extended period of time it can be easy to lose that sense of fun and excitement that comes with enjoying a special treat. I have been following the autoimmune protocol for over a year now and while I have seen amazing improvements in my ulcerative colitis symptoms it can sometimes feel like I am only eating to heal rather than to enjoy the experience of food. This feeling can become especially pronounced around holidays, when everyone else is indulging in sweets, eating out at restaurants, or drinking fancy cocktails.

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, I wanted to create a recipe that was both luxurious and safe for those of us seeking to enjoy the holiday without sacrificing any of our hard work. The result was even more fabulous than I could have imagined!

When I thought up the idea for this recipe I was somewhat skeptical of my ability to make it work, it has been a long time since those days in the chocolate shop, but I wanted to try. How could a truffle, free of chocolate, dairy, refined sugar, and nuts turn into something truly luxurious and indulgent? I set to work with excitement and reserve only to have these little beauties turn out perfectly on the first try! I took a bite of the first one and audibly squealed with delight! I gave one to my husband later and the next words out of his mouth were “are there more of these?!”

If you are in the process of healing through diet and lifestyle changes, you have made a really difficult but rewarding commitment. True healing is not found in constantly “paleo-izing” treats or solely eliminating certain foods. Elimination must be paired with the addition of nourishing, nutrient dense foods like bone broth, leafy greens and grass-fed meat. However, I strongly believe that long term healing is also found in feeling satisfied as well as nourished. So, this Valentine’s Day don’t eye those cheesy heart shaped boxes of chocolates with looks of longing and depravation, whip up a batch of these lovely truffles and indulge in the fact that healing never tasted so good!

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* All recipes, photographs and articles on this site, unless otherwise noted, are my original creations and may not be copied or republished in any form.
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